The Pittsburgh Penguins were in a good mood during practice Sunday in Cranberry.
In fact, you could even say things were comical.
And it was pretty clear why.
Ryan Shea fell down.
As players were warming up for the formal portions of practice with some tight-area skating reps, the third-pairing defenseman fell down onto his backside in a pronounced fashion, prompting a roar of laughter and stick “claps” from teammates who made absolutely no effort to constrain their glee over their affable teammate’s mishap.
There were also two even more profound — but far less risible — reasons for the Penguins to be jubilant.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin practiced.
Both superstar forwards rejoined their teammates for the session in full-contact capacities, operating in their typical stations as the first-line center and second-line right winger, respectively.
While both remain “day-to-day” as they recover from undisclosed injuries that have sidelined them as of late, their combined presence was clearly buoyant for the Penguins, who have a consequential road contest against the Metropolitan Division rival New York Islanders looming Monday.
“It was nice,” goaltender Stuart Skinner said. “It’s always good having those guys, obviously. Two guys that are big parts of the team.
“We’ve got our (captain) out there. It’s always an exciting feeling having him.”
The person who wears the “C” on his jersey, Crosby, would appear to be closer to rejoining the lineup than Malkin, just based on what they offered during Sunday’s practice.
Crosby practiced for just under an hour and spoke with reporters after the session. Malkin remained on the ice for roughly 80 minutes and worked out with reserve defensemen Ilya Solovyov and Jack St. Ivany.
Dan Muse said, Crosby was scheduled to trek to Long Island with the team, and Malkin’s travel plans were to be determined.
Crosby, who declined to say if his current injury is related to the suspected right leg injury he suffered while skating for Canada during the Olympics, was largely non-committal when discussing the potential of playing Monday.
“It’s just day-to-day,” Crosby said. “It’s nice to get out there with the guys and see how everything felt.”
Monday’s game commands considerable gravity for the Islanders (42-27-5, 89 points) and Penguins (36-21-16, 88 points) as they entered Sunday situated in second and third place of the Metropolitan Division, respectively.
A game on Sunday evening between another Metropolitan Division foe, the Columbus Blue Jackets (38-24-11, 87 points), and the Boston Bruins (41-24-8, 90 points) of the Atlantic Division, could further muddy the waters of the playoff picture within the division and Eastern Conference wild-card standings.
A year ago, there was little for the Penguins to worry about as it pertained to the playoffs. They were all but eliminated from contention by the time the calendar flipped to April.
Today, they are blessed with the daily stress of trying to reach the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Crosby relishes that burden.
“It’s excitement,” Crosby said. “It’s anticipation. There’s always a little bit of nerves in those big games. But those are the ones you want to be in. The only thing better would be having a playoff spot locked in. And if you’re not going to be locked in, playing to get in is pretty good, too.”
Having Crosby and/or Malkin play on Monday would be pretty good as well.
“As a player, these are the ones you want to be in,” Crosby said. “These are big games.”
Note: Penguins forwards Noel Acciari and Bryan Rust were excused from Sunday’s practice for what was termed as “maintenance.”
